Tarte Tropezienne

Tarte Tropézienne, also known as “La Tarte de Saint-Tropez”, is a famous French dessert pastry. It was created in 1955 by Polish confectioner Alexandre Micka, a pâtisserie owner in Saint-Tropez, where he moved shortly after the war. Micka adapted his grandmother’s recipe to create the first version of tarte tropézienne in 1952. A few years later, actress Brigitte Bardot discovered the pastry while filming And God Created Woman in Saint-Tropez. It was later named after the town and popularised after she “discovered” it, and Micka officially registered the trademark. (Source: Wikipedia.)

Tarte Tropézienne is a brioche pastry split in half and filled with crème pâtissière and buttercream (or sometimes a mixture with whipped cream), then topped with pearl sugar. I prepared it in an individual mini version — a style you can also find in traditional French pâtisseries. It tastes delicate and unique; the combination of cream, soft brioche, pearl sugar and syrup is truly irresistible.

Note: You can prepare the cream the day before. The finished cream (before adding the whipped cream) can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Ingredients for the brioche dough:

• 300 g plain flour
• 3 large eggs
• 30 g sugar
• 30 ml milk
• 4 g dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp orange blossom water or vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt
• 115 g butter

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the flour and dried yeast, then add the eggs, milk, orange blossom water, salt and sugar. Knead on low speed for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, stretchy and elastic. Gradually add the butter while kneading, until fully incorporated.

Place the brioche dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise until it has increased in volume by about one-third (approximately 2 – 4 hours). Then place it in the fridge overnight.

The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and, working with the cold dough, shape it into a 24 cm circle (or shape 10 small mini brioches). Line a baking tray with baking paper and transfer the dough onto it. Dust lightly with flour, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 3 hours).

Brush the large brioche (or the mini ones) with beaten egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar (from the ingredients listed below). Bake at 180°C for about 18 – 25 minutes, or until golden brown (mini brioches may bake slightly faster). Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients for the cream:

• 360 ml milk
• 4 egg yolks, from large eggs
• 65 g sugar
• 35 g potato starch
• 1 Tbsp orange blossom water or vanilla extract
• 85 g butter, cubed
• 60 ml whipping cream, chilled

All ingredients, except the whipping cream, should be at room temperature.

In a mixer bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks. Add the potato starch and mix until a smooth paste forms. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the milk to the boil. Remove from the heat and slowly pour about 150 ml into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Then pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it comes to the boil. Once boiling, continue whisking for another minute until thickened.

Add the orange blossom water, then the butter, a few cubes at a time, whisking until fully incorporated. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and cover the surface directly with cling film to prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool to room temperature.

If not using immediately, refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Just before assembling the cake, whip the cream until it holds soft peaks. Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and whisk briefly to loosen it. Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream using a flexible spatula.

Ingredients for the syrup:

• 75 ml water
• 75 g sugar
• 1 tsp orange blossom water or vanilla extract

In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar and orange blossom water (or vanilla extract) and place over medium heat. Bring to the boil, simmer for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. Leave to cool completely.

Additionally:

• 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
• pearl sugar, for sprinkling
• icing sugar, for dusting

Cut the brioche (or the mini brioches) in half horizontally. Using a pastry brush, soak both halves lightly with the syrup. Fill a piping bag fitted with a plain or decorative nozzle with the cream and pipe it onto the bottom half of the brioche, then place the top half over it. To finish, dust with icing sugar, slice and serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from bake-street.com.